Teenage Engineering is back with another super cool music machine. The Teenage Engineering OP-XY is a new portable synthesizer and sequencer that’s built for upgradeability, and has a heavier focus on layering and effects.
The Swedish company has seriously refined its look, and has had a hand in some of the most interesting and influential consumer tech designs of the past few years. Recently, it helped in the design of the Rabbit R1 AI device, but the OP-XY represents a return to its own branded pieces.
The sequencer offers a black and white design with a grayscale gradient that progresses along the sequencer buttons in the center of the device. It’s less colorful than some of the company’s other products but just as unique.
The OP-XY is built as an upgraded version of some of the company’s previous generation sequencers, as you might have gathered from the OP name. Unlike the OP-Z, which was designed to be used with a smartphone, the new model has a built-in black-and-white screen. Don’t expect to be able to touch that screen, though; the OP-XY is exclusively controlled through the knobs and buttons dotted around its face.
Also, around the exterior of the device there are a range of different ports. There are a few input options, including a 3.5mm input and a built-in microphone. There’s a 3.5mm output, which can output MIDI signals to allow the OP-XY to control external synthesizers. Lastly, there’s a 3.5mm analog audio output. It can be charged through USB-C and has a 16-hour battery.
The OP-XY is a step sequencer like the OP-1. The step sequencer is one of the earliest forms of creating electronic music beats. While plenty of people now turn to software for sequencing, there’s still something to say for good old hardware step sequencer devices like the OP-XY.
The OP-XY has a dual Blackfin CPU paired with 512GB of RAM, as well as 8GB of internal storage and eight unique synth engines. There’s also an accelerometer built into it, which allows the user to move the synthesizer around to change how it sounds.
Teenage Engineering’s OP-XY sequencer is available for $2,299 at teenage.engineering.com.
